WBA Regular Super Bantamweight Champion Scott Quigg (26(19)-0-1) on Friday weighed in at 8stone 9lbs and 9oz ahead of his first world title defence against undefeated Cuban Yoandris Salinas (20(13)-0-1) this Saturday at the O2, London. The challenger weighed in at 8stone 9lbs and 12oz.
Quigg was recently elevated to WBA regular champion after winning the interim title last November in a career best performance against fellow Brit Rendall Munroe. The champion however, refuses to acknowledge his new found status, insisting that nothing has been won as of yet.
“I’ll win this fight and that’s when I’ll become world champion,”said Quigg in an interview with Sky Sports. “Nobody wants to win a world title outside of the ring. I want to win this title in the ring against a good opponent.”
And that is what Quigg has in the form of Salinas. The Cuban is undefeated as a professional and is reported to have had over 300 amateur contests, including a victory over Chinese superstar Zou Shiming.
The challenger won a silver medal at the Central American and Caribbean games in 2006 and a bronze medal at the Pan American games in 2007.
While Joe Gallacher, Quigg’s trainer, acknowledged Salinas as a good fighter, he insisted the fight only has one outcome.
“Salinas is a good Cuban, he has that arrogance, that nonchalance, that swagger about him, but the only thing that he will be taking back with him is a broken jaw,” Gallacher told iFilm London.
“Scott is one of the hardest punchers in the Super Bantamweight division in the world today, and Salinas will find that out come Saturday night,” Quigg’s trainer added.
The bout serves as a co main event to the pro debut of Olympic Super Heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, who faces Emmanuel Leo (8(3)-0-0) from Italy.
The Olympic champion weighed in at a muscly 16stone 6.75lbs while Leo topped the scales at 16stone 6.5pounds.
Speaking to iFilm London, the Olympic Champion said “I’m as ready as I can be, what I have to do tomorrow is just give it my best, and that’s it.”
The bill will also feature a British and Commonwealth title clash between defending champion Lee Selby (16(6)-1-0) and challenger Ryan Walsh (16(8)-0-1), while the vacant IBF Intercontinental Lightweight title will be contested between former world title challenger Kevin Mitchell (34(24)-2-0) and Mexican Marco Lopez (23(14)-2-0).
